Page 8 of Runaway Bride for the Boss

I accept the clothes and thank her, then close the door, locking it with a sigh. Damn it. I didn’t want to have to face him this soon. The en suite bathroom is stunning in the morning light: white marble tiles and white stucco walls. There’s a built-in electric fireplace, and three alcoves with sliding glass doors.

One alcove has a white bathtub with a rack of towels, while another holds the sink which has a mirror above and a chest of drawers underneath it. The third alcove holds the toilet and a second small sink. Then in the corner is a large tiled shower that looks very inviting. I walk to the sink and rummage through the drawers until I find a few new toothbrushes. I tear one out of its package and toss the wrapping in the trash, then I quickly brush my teeth. Afterward, I take a hot shower, my body relaxing as the jet sprays hit me from all angles.

I get dressed sans underwear in a pair of jeans that are a little too snug and another baggy shirt. I dry my hair with the towel as much as possible and run a brush from one of the drawers through my hair, wincing when the bristles snag a few curls. I need my own products, damn it. I should have gone home to pack a few things. but it wasn’t worth the risk of getting caught.

When I’m done, I take a bracing breath and make my way downstairs. I find them in the kitchen. Andrea is mixing what looks like pancake batter in a bowl, while her brother is sitting on one of the stools arranged in front of the island, reading anewspaper with a steaming mug in front of him. Who reads a newspaper in this day and age?

“Autumn, hey.” Andrea grins when she sees me. To my relief, her brother doesn’t look up from his paper, and she rolls her eyes.

“Alexander, I’d like you to meet my friend and new employee,” she says and he finally looks up.Alexander.

My heart starts hammering when our gazes meet. The heat and passion from last night is gone from those gorgeous eyes, but there’s a glimmer of interest in them.

“Autumn.” He rolls my name around on his tongue. “What does the WM stand for then?”

“Wren Montgomery,” I answer before I can stop myself. Ugh. How does he know my initials? I should definitely be concerned.

“What? Have you guys met before?” Andrea glances between the two of us suspiciously.

“What? No,” I say quickly. Too quickly. “I’ve never left New York my whole life, so of course not.” Alexander’s lips tilt up in a smirk.

“Then how does he know your initials?” Andrea asks.

“Because I found something of hers when I got home last night. It had her initials on it.” Alex answers, turning back to his newspaper. “It’s in my study.”

“Really? What is it?” Andrea doesn’t seem like she’s going to let it go any time soon. Alex releases a long suffering sigh and stands up from the stool.

“Follow me, Autumn.”

I exchange a look with Andrea who simply shrugs in response, all suspicions apparently gone. I follow him to the back of the house where I’m surprised to see an elevator. He pauses outside the door waiting for me to enter the small glass box.

I hesitate briefly, then follow him inside. He clicks on the second floor and the elevator starts to move.

“There can’t be a repeat of last night,” Alex says. “It was an aberration. A mistake.”

“Yeah.” I agree, although slightly offended, glancing down at my bare feet to avoid meeting his gaze. The pretty pink polish is starting to chip off at the edges. I’ll have to repaint it. I let out a sigh when I remember I don’t have any of my polishes.

The elevator doors slide open, and he leads me down a short hallway; he opens the door to a masculine office. The walls painted a deep navy blue and the hardwood floor gleams. He walks to the large mahogany desk and takes a seat in the high-backed leather chair. I follow him, standing on the other side of the desk, feeling unsure. He presses his thumb on a panel I can’t see, and there's a quiet click. He pulls open one of the desk drawers.

Who puts a thumb print on their desk drawers? I happen to glance out the gleaming windows, and I see a few men walking around on the grounds. I remember they were armed last night. Where the hell am I?

He takes out a small, green box and slides it across the desk to me. I pick it up cautiously, wondering what could possibly be inside and unsure just how much I should trust this mysterious man.

CHAPTER 6

AUTUMN

Igasp when I open the box. My necklace. I run a finger over my sparkling initials. The necklace Larson gave me on my first birthday with him. I lost it last year and all Larson talked about for a week after is how careless I am. It would’ve been worse if I hadn’t told him that I wanted to take a break the night I had lost it. He was trying to win me back, but he couldn’t resist scolding me for losing such an expensive piece of jewelry. It was with Alex all this time?

I had taken the necklace off angrily as I stormed out of my engagement party. Not long after that, I bumped into Alex. It must’ve slipped from my hand as I ran away.

“Is there a pawn shop in Brattleboro?” I ask, calculating how much I could get for it. I’ll be able to at least buy myself some clothes and a few other things.

“What? You want to sell it?” He frowns at me. “I assume this must mean something to you, do you need money that badly?”

“It means nothing to me.” I close the box with a snap. “Thank you for keeping it.” I start to leave his study, but he stops me.

“Don’t you want to know why I held onto that?” he asks. I turn to face him.

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